Seto Sea, the Inland Sea of Japan History & Facts - View Larger Map Known as the Seto Sea, the Inland Sea of Japan is the body of water which separates the three main islands of the country, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. Not only does it serve as an international waterway that connects the Sea of Japan to the Pacific Ocean, it is a valuable sea transport to industrial parts in the Kansai region because of its connection to Osaka Bay. The waterway runs from east to west in about 450 km and has a width of 15 to 55 km from south to north. An approximate of 3,000 islands can be found here separated by the eastern, central, and western parts. The Inland sea is a rich well of biodiversity with more than 500 marine species inhabiting its waters. Just some of the popular faunas are the ayu, the finless porpoise, horseshoe crabs, and even great white sharks. When it comes to industry, the Inland sea is considered as a very productive section in modern Japan.

The primary industries surrounding its waters are from the cities of Kurashiki, Fukuyama, Ube, and Kobe. Tourism helps the area because of the mixture of the sea’s refreshing mix with Japan’s climate and picturesque landscape. The coastal area of the sea, in particular, is one very popular choice for tourists whenever they visit Japan because of the unique beauty of its waters. The length of the coastal area named Setonaikai National Park, considered as one of the oldest parks in the country. The Itsukushima Shrine also found in the area of Inland sea is a member of UNESCO’s list of Heritage Sites around the world. More famous tourist centers are Kyoto and Tokyo with their appealing metropolitan structures and Shodoshima, also known as the “island of olives”. Leave a Reply Japan's Seto Inland Sea islands enjoy artistic renaissance | Post Magazine | South China Morning Post South China Morning Post Asia travel Japan's Seto Inland Sea islands enjoy artistic renaissance A handful of islands in Japan's Seto Inland Sea are enjoying something of a revival thanks to a company's artistic vision - and olives. Mark Footer reports. 0Comments Inside the Teshima Art Museum.

Photos: Teshima Art Museum/Noboru Morikawa; Christian Boltanski, Les Archives du Coeur/Kuge Yasuhide; Mark Footer In a dark room by a little beach on the island of Teshima beats the heart of one Mark Footer, from Hong Kong. Among the 46,038 (and counting) heartbeats that boom in the Heart Room of Les Archives du Coeur, one at a time, each beat illuminating ever so briefly a naked light bulb, is also that of Christian Boltanski. The French artist has been storing heartbeats, recorded on-site and elsewhere, here since 2008; it is one of a number of sites of artistic interest on Teshima (population: 1,000) and other islands in Japan's Seto Inland Sea. In a region of heavy industry, the Inland Sea - a 450km-long body of water that separates Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, three of the country's four main islands - has long been used for maritime transport. It became polluted as a consequence of Japan's rapid industrialisation, which affected livelihoods on many of its smaller islands.

As the population has aged across Japan, many of these islands have depopulated and some of their villages fallen into neglect. The process is being reversed on a handful of islands under the patronage of Benesse Holdings. The Japanese company focuses on correspondence education and publishing but has brought together art, architecture and nature in projects on Naoshima - the epicentre of the grand experiment - Teshima and Inujima, home to the Seirensho Art Museum, which perhaps best represents the motto of Soichiro Fukutake, president of the Benesse Art Site: "Use what exists to create what is to be". Naoshima and Teshima, until 1990 an illegal dumping ground for industrial waste, fall within the maritime boundary of Kagawa, Japan's smallest prefecture, as do nine of the other 10 islands that will co-host the third Setouchi Triennale festival of art, next year. The artistic overhaul of Teshima includes a whitewashed, 40 metre by 60 metre droplet-shaped concrete shell that is surrounded by paddy fields and looks out over the sea.

Within the Teshima Art Museum is seemingly nothing except a few tiny white "stones", out of which drops of water are pushed. That doesn't sound like much, but standing inside the apparently empty space, which is unsupported by any pillar, listening to the wind blow through the trees outside - in the ceiling, are two large, oval openings - and watching the drops coalesce on the gently undulating floor into small pools, which then break again, sending what look like bugs and snakes running hither and thither, is an immensely powerful experience, and it leaves me in need of an ice cream. An influx of art lovers is helping to support a number of commercial enterprises on Teshima, such as the Tada Farm Strawberry Shop, which sells ice cream and other treats made from berries grown on the island as organically as possible, and Shima Kitchen, a restaurant that was constructed in an abandoned house. According to manager Megumi Fujisaki, much of the work at Shima Kitchen, including the creation of the menu, is undertaken by local ladies of a certain age, and 70 per cent of the ingredients originate in Kagawa, rice and fruit being grown on Teshima itself.

However, says Fujisaki, although the revival of the island is attracting young Japanese looking for a way out of the rat race, few Teshima-born youth, like her, have yet to be tempted home. Picture in your mind a "James Bond island" and it's unlikely you'll be thinking of windswept Naoshima. Nevertheless, the island, a few kilometres to the west of Teshima, is home to the one-room 007 Museum, which is full of memorabilia, fan art and storyboards. You won't have seen Connery, Moore or Dalton striding across the island, but it was one of the settings in the 2002 Bond novel The Man with the Red Tattoo. Apparently, "the government and people of Kagawa" are hoping to bring attention to Raymond Benson's book, and thus convince a movie studio to fly Daniel Craig in for a bit of derring-do and, if the museum centrepiece is anything to go by, some leaping out of a huge model of a human heart.

Other attractions on Naoshima are in a different league altogether, and many - including Benesse House Museum (which includes what I make the mistake of calling a boutique hotel; the management insists it is instead a part of the museum that functions as a hotel) - are shaped by the concrete slabs of architect Tadao Ando. Perhaps most interesting is the Art House Project, under which old houses and unused ground have been repurposed as works of art. Enter Minamidera, an Ando construction on the site of an old temple, and you'll believe for a few minutes you're blind. As your eyes adjust to the dark, you begin to become aware of artist James Turrell's Backside of the Moon, a piece that plays with the viewer's perception of light. Historically, Japan has been hostile to European influence, but on Shodoshima, the second largest island in the Inland Sea and a few kilometres to the east of Teshima, they have (unlike Brussels, nowadays) a soft spot for the Greeks.

In 1908, olive cultivation took root on the island, and Shodoshima, also renowned for its soy sauce, now produces about 350 tonnes a year, from 30,000 trees. Some years later, when the mayor of the Greek island of Milos was visiting, he was so reminded of home, the islands were joined as "sisters", which explains the windmill, Doric columns and faux Orthodox church at The Olive Park, a part-orchard, part-theme park where as many as 2,000 trees are tended by hand. A large statue of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and revelry, points the way to the gift shop, the result of imaginations allowed to run riot: inside is everything from hair oil and moisturiser to delicious green chocolate, all made with olive oil. In 1950, the Japanese emperor visited the park and planted the only tree that is not regularly pruned. Olives from this tree are still sent to the imperial family. Had the Nijushi no Hitomi Movie Village existed in 1950, it's probably fair to assume the emperor would have given it a miss.

On this film set-cum-museum, the movie Twenty-Four Eyes was filmed - twice. The original, which follows the lives of a schoolteacher and her first class of students as Japan militarises in the 1930s and then goes to war, was made in 1954, and a colour version was filmed in 1987. For obvious reasons, most of Kagawa's finest history predates the second world war but standing in the warm sunlight, in the dusty schoolyard of the movie set, beneath a fluttering "circle of the sun", you can almost believe the push for a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere could have had a positive outcome. Getting there: Cathay Pacific flies daily from Hong Kong to Haneda Airport, in Tokyo, from where Japan Airlines flies several times a day to Takamatsu, the capital of Kagawa prefecture. From there, ferries run regularly to Teshima, Naoshima and Shodoshima. Bikes can be hired on Teshima and Naoshima.

Country Holidays ( ) runs bespoke tours on which you can visit not just the main sites, but also places a non-Japanese visitor would be unable to find, such as the family-run factories of soy sauce and sake makers that have been in business for hundreds of years. Guide to the Seto Inland Sea Region of Japan THE SETO INLAND SEA The Seto Inland Sea narrowly separates three three main islands of Japan, stretching about 440 km from east to west, and 5 to 55 km from north to south. The calm waters, dotted with pine-covered islands and islets, provide a variety of scenery all the year round. The islands hold various livelihoods, some serving as orchards or pastures, others as bases for fishing or shipping, yet others are known for producing fishing nets and fishing boats. Some are predominantly religious, others were port towns, while yet others have been known for the production of granite. Today some are turning to aquaculture or tourism, many of the 800 inhabited islands offering cosy summer resorts along their usually unpolluted beaches.

Not a few of them are of historical interest, still retaining legends, relics and monuments from the long past of the Inland Sea as an artery of Japan's cultural, political and economic development. The following are some of the islands well-known for their specialities: The Seto Inland Sea as a Witness of Japan's History The climate in the Inland Sea area was relatively mild and the sea was calm and bountiful. Thus its coastal areas cradled some of the earlest civilizations in Japan. From around 300 BC to 300 AD advanced cultures arrived from China and Korea, introducing ironware, bronzeware, weaving and rice-growing. Those who succeeded in crossing the treacherous Japan Sea or the China Sea continued along the Inland Sea up to the early capitals in Naniwa (Osaka) or Yamato (Nara). During the centuries after that, Chinese writing and Buddhism followed the same route.

おだやかな気候と海の幸に恵まれた瀬戸内海沿岸地方は、わが国最古の文明の光がさしそめたところでもある。紀元前300年から西暦300年にかけては、中国や朝鮮から鉄器、青銅器、機織、稲作の技術がつたえられる。波高いシナ海や日本海にもまれたあとは、内海の浦づたい、島づたいに、難波や大和の都へと渡っていったのであろう。やがては中国の文物や仏教もおなじ経路をたどっていく。 Meanwhile the seamen of the Inland Sea area were acquiring knowledge of tides and currents, navigating expertise and ship - building skills. Some early Emperors enlisted them for military expeditions as far as the Korean Peninsula. On the other hand, the cultures and human resources from ancient Korea - Paekche, Koguryo and Silla - greatly influenced the cultural, political and economic development of ancient Japan.

一方、内海海人・舟人も、複雑な潮流や海流にかんする知識をたくわえ、操船や造船の技術を向上させたりもする。一方、古代朝鮮半島（新羅・高麗・百済）から渡来人がもたらした文化・文物のおかげで、わが国の政治・文化・経済の基盤もしだいにととのっていく。 In 646 the Taika Reform declared all land in the country the property of the Emperor, and it was divided into kuni as administrative districts. Now each kuni had to send its products regularly to the Imperial Capital as mandatory tribute. The Inland Sea was needed as a main route for maritime transportation. It was also about this time that the Inland Sea saw Japanese envoys dispatched to China several times, seeking the advanced knowledge and technology of the sui and T'ang dynasties.

646年、大化改新によって「公地公民」が敷かれ、すべての土地・人民が天皇の所有となり、中央集権的支配機構がうちたてられ、統一的課税制度が設けられる。西日本諸国から朝廷への貢物をつんだ船が瀬戸内海を定期的に行きかうようになったのもそのころからである。 But the life of the people was far from easy. Heavily burdened with taxes and mandatory tributes, many turned to piracy. Eventually even the initiative for them. Fujiwara no Sumitomo is famous for one such escapade. After quitting the lordship of lyo (now Ehime Pref.), he made himself pirate chief and ravaged for several years with his fleet of 1,000 ships, completely paralyzing Inland Sea transport until 941 when he was finally quelled at his base of Hiburijima Island off present - day Uwajima City.

だが、庶民の生活はらくではなかった。租税の重圧にたえかねて海賊になる者がぞくぞくとあらわれる。ついにはその海賊を組織する有力者もあたわれる。藤原純友にいたっては、伊予の掾の任務をおえたあとも伊予にとどまり、1,000叟という海賊の首領となって勢力をはり、内海の交通を完全に麻痺させてしまう。941年、純友が本拠にしていた日振島で討ちとられるまでその混乱はつづいていく。 To patrol their coastal waters, many local clans organized their own marine guard. These guards called suigun, usually led by the clan's chief, were instrumental in the history of the centuries that followed. The central government enlisted suigun to patrol the sea, to suppress pirates and to guard its trading ships to and from Sung dynasty China. Soon some suigun were engaging in coastal trade and even overseas trade themselves, thus gaining the wealth and power to control the land as well as the sea.

一方、自衛のために「水軍」を組織していた各地の豪族たちは、水軍を核として、しだいに武士的な成長をとげていく。すなわち、中央政府からの指名をうけて、海上警護や、中国へ行き来する貿易船護送の任務につくようになる。水軍のなかには、みずからも国の内外で交易し、富をたくわえ、勢力をのばしていく者もある。 In 1185 they joined a civil war known as Gempei no Kassen. The end of that war marked the fall of the refined Heian civilization that flourished in Kyoto. Kono Michinobu, whose suigun had contributed to bringing about the new era of the Kamakura Shogunate, was appointed by the Shogun to govern the main part of Iyo. Some suigun dubbed themselves ' Admiral, ' taking pride in their activities as independent merchants as well as official guardians of the sea.

1185年、平安時代に終止符をうった源平合戦にも各地の水軍が参加する。源氏に見方して功のあった伊予水軍の大将・河野通信は、鎌倉幕府によって伊予の守護大名に任じられ、さらに勢力をのばしていく。水軍のなかには、みずから「海賊大将軍」として私貿易に従事する者もある。 Some other suigun joined the Wako - the fleets of Japanese pirates who from the 13th to 16th centuries plundered the coasts of the Korean Peninsula, China and the South Sea Islands, while other suigun helped the Shoguns stop the Wako. To defend herself against Wako, Ming China issued an identification mark for the use of Japan's official trading ships, which brought swords, sulfur, copper, gold, folding fans and gold lacquer, among other things, bringing back copper coins, raw silk, silk fabrics, books and so on from China.

13世紀から16世紀にかけては、「倭寇」となって朝鮮半島、中国や南海諸島の沿岸を荒らしまわる者もすくなくない。かと思うと、幕府の命令をうけて、倭寇の征伐に出むく者もある。中国は倭寇にたいする対策として勘合符をもちいての貿易を旨としたが、これにより、日本からは刀剣・イオウ・銅・金・扇・金蒔絵などを運び、中国からは銅銭・生糸・絹織物・書物などをもちかえった。 During the Civil War Period, one suigun after another was consigned to powerful clans, for any ambitious warlord had to prepare himself with a strong army and navy. The civil war that lasted about 100 years rendered the lands and seas into chaos until 1573 when Oda Nobunaga managed to enforce some peace.

室町時代の後半、つまり戦国時代（1477－1573）には、各地の大名が戦いにそなえて海上軍をも強化しようとしたため、各地の水軍はつぎつぎと強力な大名の配下に組入れられていく。約100年にわったて戦国の嵐も、1573年、織田信長が幕府を倒し、天下統一をなかば達成するにいたってようやく静まってくる。 In 1588 Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who succeeded Nobunaga and unified Japan, restricted sword ownership to the samurai class. He severely banned piracy, having decided that society had to be strictly regulated to ensure peace. Now pirates found their heyday was gone, and so did the suigun clans, most of whom had already been incorporated into the feudal domains of the Daimyos.

1588年、信長のあとをうけた豊臣秀吉は念願の全国平定に向けて「刀狩令」と「海賊禁止令」を出し、取締なりをきびしくする。これにより、海賊もついに息の根をとめられ、独特の活動でしられた水軍も封建体制の枠組みの中にうずもれていく。 Only the suigun of the Shiwaku Islands were privileged to continue their activities because of the great assistance they had given to Nobunaga and Hideyoshi. Soon after the unification of Japan in 1590, Hideyoshi waged two wars against Korea assisted again by the Shiwaku suigun without success, but the thousands of Korean artisans he brought back were to greatly promote Japan's arts of printing, dyeing, weaving and ceramics through the new era to come.

たった一つの例外は、塩飽水軍であった。信長や秀吉を助けて功のあったかれらには、「人名」として、塩飽諸島250意思の禄があたえられ、今までどおりの活動がゆるされたからである。1590年、秀吉は全国統一をなしとげると、その勢いをかって朝鮮にも出兵する。所期の目的は達成できなかったが、そのおりに朝鮮からつれてきた技術者集団は、その後の日本の版画・染色・織物・軍磁器方面の発展にいちじるしい貢献をすることになる。 The Tokugawa Shogunate, established in 1603 in Edo (Tokyo), was careful enough to put Osaka, the former capital of Hideyoshi, under its direct control, because it had already grown into the commercial and financial center of Japan. In the 1630's the Shogunate adopted a national isolation policy with a small island in Nagasaki Harbor as a window only open to China and Holland, thus consolidating Japan's feudal society.

Now the only foreign vessels seen on the Inland Sea were those of Korean envoys of the Li dynasty to the Edo Shogunate. 1603年、家康は江戸に幕府をひらく。秀吉が手塩にかけた大阪は政治上・軍事上・経済上、西日本でも最重要の地として幕府の直轄領とする。1630年代には「鎖国令」を出し、長崎の出島を通し、わずかに中国人・オランダ人と通交 ... In 1672 'a westward route' was opened, leading all the coastal trade of the Japan Sea side into the Inland Sea up to the port of Osaka. Now 70% of Japan's commodities passed through Osaka, earning this town the nickname of 'Kitchen of the Country'. Some merchants were so wealthy that even Daimyos borrowed money from them. Many of the local specialties date back to this time when each Daimyo was eagerly promoting local industries in order to improve the revenue of his province.

It was also about this time that the religious fervor of Kompira worship combined with the Shikoku Pilgrimage began to attract hordes of people to 'the Remote Island of Shikoku.' The seamen of the Shiwaku Islands talked of the great merits of visiting 'Kompira-san' and 'O-Shikoku-san' while sailing around the coast of the nation not only as the Shogun's seamen but also as independent merchants. In the 1860's the three driving wheels carrying out the Meiji Restoration were busily crossing the Inland Sea, as the Big Three Clans came from Kyushu, Shikoku and westernmost Honshu. In the 1870's when Japan's modernization started, Osaka, Kobe and Kita-Kyushu were readily industrialized, followed by Hiroshima. But it was not until the 1960's that the rest of the Inland Sea area began to undergo the large-scale industrialization that we see today. Toward the end of the same decade what is called akashio or red tides (an unusual generation of plankton that turns the tide an ominous red) began to appear.

By the end of the 20th century, the Inland Sea will see even greater changes through the three routes connecting Honshu and Shikoku by bridges. Miyajima Island 宮 島 The whole island of Miyajima dedicated to Itsukushima-jinja 厳島神社 is traditionally known as one of the three most beautiful scenes in Japan. It is also designated a Special Historic Site. Its founding dates back to 598, but it was not until 1168 that a magnificent shrine complex was built by Taira no Kiyomori, the patriarch of the Taira Clan, who revered the three goddesses of water, rice-planting and sea-faring enshrined there. The original buildings are gone but the style-the shinden-zukuri (noblemen's residence style of the Heian Period) - has been preserved whenever they were reconstructed. Most of the main buildings are National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties.

The Islands of the Seto Inland Sea | Food & Travel | Trends in Japan | Web Japan Web Japan > Trends in Japan > Food & Travel > The Islands of the Seto Inland Sea The Islands of the Seto Inland Sea Nature and Modern Art in Japan’s First National Park Olive Trees and the Seto Inland Sea. Enlarge photo A 450-kilometer-long body of water bounded by the islands of Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku, the Seto Inland Sea was designated Japan’s first national park in 1934. More than 700 islands dot the placid lake-like waters, offering opportunities to visit terraced rice fields, fishing villages lined with old wooden houses, and glimpses of a traditional way of life that has largely disappeared from Japan's larger, more crowded islands. The Seto Inland Sea has long been popular with foreign visitors. Nineteenth-century German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen, famous for giving the Silk Road its name, was so struck by the beauty of the Seto Inland Sea that he predicted it would one day become renowned as one of the most beautiful places in the world.

The Olive Groves of ShodoshimaThe best way to get to know the Seto Inland Sea is to spend some time exploring some of the islands, with their rich heritage and culture. Among the largest of the islands is Shodoshima (population 31,000), situated roughly in the middle of the Seto Inland Sea. Shodoshima is a place of natural beauty and stunning sea views. One of the best-known scenic spots on the island is the Kankakei Gorge, said to be one of three most beautiful ravines in Japan. A ropeway whisks visitors up a steep canyon to the summit, which affords 360-degree views of the entire Seto Inland Sea. The mountain top is crisscrossed by walking trails, where more than 2,000 varieties of plant life flourish throughout the year in Shodoshima's mild climate. Visitors making somen, a Shodoshima specialty, at the Hirai Seimenjo noodle factory.

Enlarge photo Shodoshima is also known as a center of shoyu (soy sauce) production, an industry that has been a pillar of the local economy for more than 400 years. The local soy sauce is fermented slowly in old cedar barrels over several months, and is renowned for its rich flavor and aroma. Thin wheat vermicelli noodles called somen and traditional tsukudani (fish and other products simmered in sweetened soy sauce) are other local delicacies worth trying. A number of soy sauce breweries offer tours, and there are workshops at which visitors can try their hand at making somen and tsukadani. The island is also known as “Olive Island,” famous as one of the few olive-growing regions in Japan. The history of olives goes back to 1908, when the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce planted seedlings in several locations around the country on an experimental basis. Shodoshima was the only place where they bore fruit. More than a century later, the efforts of those early farmers have paid off. Orders pour in from around the country at harvest time and olive products of all kinds are popular souvenirs among visitors to the island.

One of the major attractions of a visit to the Seto Inland Sea is the wealth of locally grown fresh produce and other foods. Not surprisingly, seafood is particularly abundant, with the region's fishermen providing some of the freshest sashimi and sushi anywhere in Japan. On the Shikoku coast, Sanuki udon noodles are hugely popular in Takamatsu and the rest of Kagawa Prefecture. The noodles have a distinctively firm and chewy texture, and many people make a special trip to the prefecture to get a taste of the real thing. An International Center for ArtAccessible by ferry from Takamatsu and Okayama, Naoshima is fast becoming internationally famous as a major art destination. Miyanoura port is the gateway to Naoshima and the venue for the Marine Station Naoshima. This was designed by SANAA (Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates), a Japanese architectural studio founded by Sejima Kazuyo and Nishizawa Ryue, recipients of the 2010 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the highest honor in the profession. The Inland Sea and the Chichu Art Museum.

(C)Chichu Art Museum (C)Photographer : FUJITSUKA Mitsumasa Enlarge photo The Chichu Art Museum is a stunning underground space lit entirely by natural light, designed by the famous Osaka-born architect Ando Tadao, the recipient of the 1995 Pritzker Architecture Prize. The museum provides a remarkable setting for works by French impressionist Claude Monet (1840—1926), American sculptor and composer Walter De Maria (1935— ), and American installation artist James Turrell (1943— ). Benesse House is another Ando creation, a stylish concrete structure overlooking the Seto Inland Sea that contains a modern art museum and guest rooms spread over four wings. Artworks are also on display around the grounds, where they add a contemporary, artistic touch to the stunning natural beauty of the island and its seascapes. Outdoor art at Benesse House, with the Seto Inland Sea in the background. (C)Yayoi Kusama "Pumpkin" (C) Photo:Shigeo Anzai.

Enlarge photo In the Art House Project, traditional village buildings no longer in use have been handed over to artists to use as settings for their work. This transformation of traditional houses into contemporary works of art has restored the buildings to the heart of community life and inspired visitors from around the world. Setouchi International Art Festival 2010From July 19 to October 31, 2010, seven islands in the Seto Inland Sea, including both Shodoshima and Naoshima and the port city of Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture (Shikoku) will serve as the backdrop for the Setouchi International Art Festival. Work by 75 contemporary artists will be shown, exploring the theme “restoration of the sea.” A guiding principle behind the festival is that the art should be a collaboration between artists and islanders. Accordingly, artists taking part will not deliver finished works, instead teaming up with local residents to create their art on site. One of the aims of the event is to give the largely elderly population of the islands a chance to experience the pleasures and satisfactions to be had from engaging with contemporary art.

One of the charms of the Seto Inland Sea is the natural smile of the people who live here. The welcoming charm of the local people lives on today just as in earlier times. (August 2010) Japan — By No owner — last modified Mar 31, 2016 10:36 AM Japan - Inland Sea (Seto Naikai) Inland Sea (Seto Naikai) The Seto Inland Sea, often shortened to Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway, connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka Bay and provides a sea transport link to industrial centers in the Kansai region, including Osaka and Kobe.

Inland Sea - Memidex dictionary/thesaurus Inland Sea Definition: an arm of the Pacific Ocean in southern Japan; surrounded by the islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, and linked to the Sea of Japan by a narrow channel; the chief port is Hiroshima Class: | Seto-naikai [Japanese] the body of water lying between the Japanese islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. It's composed of five distinct basins linked together by ... a sea in southwestern Japan, between the islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu (13 of 314 words, 4 usage examples) Inland sea [disambiguation] may refer to: Inland sea (geology), a sea that covers a central area of a landmass | Seto Inland Sea, the body of water separating three of the main islands of Japan | Inland Sea, Gozo, a lagoon of seawater on the island of Gozo in Malta | Western... (46 of 198 words, 11 definitions) Columbia Encyclopedia: Inland Sea | Seto-naikai Jap.

"Seto-naikai", arm of the Pacific Ocean, about 3,670 sq mi (9,510 sq km), southern Japan, between Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu islands. It's ... (23 of 140 words) Oxford Dictionary: Inland Sea an almost landlocked arm of the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by the Japanese islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Its chief port is Hiroshima (23 of 42 words) American Heritage Dictionary: Inland Sea An arm of the Pacific Ocean in southern Japan between Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Linked to the Sea of Japan by a narrow channel, the sea is famous ... (28 of 34 words) Merriam-Webster: Inland Sea inlet of the Pacific 240 miles (386 kilometers) long southwestern Japan between Honshu on eastern and N, Kyushu on W, and Shikoku on S (24 of 32 words) Random House Dictionary: Inland Sea a sea in southwestern Japan, enclosed by the islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.

240 mi. (385 km) long. (19 of 21 words) www​.macmillandictionary​.com​/dictionary​/british​/Pacific Cambridge Dictionary: sea | a sea of something | sea of something | put (out) to sea | put out to sea | put to sea the salty water which covers a large part of the surface of the Earth, or a ... | "a sea of sth": a large amount or number of something | "put (out) ... (30 of 194 words, 4 definitions, 9 usage examples, pronunciation) Encarta Dictionary: Inland Sea arm of the Pacific Ocean in Japan, between the islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Length: 430 km (18 of 29 words, pronunciation) encarta​.msn​.com​/dictionary 1861676846​/definition​.html [offline] 14 Must-See Art Pieces at the Setouchi Triennale 2016 in Japan!

| Japan Info 14 Must-See Art Pieces at the Setouchi Triennale 2016 in Japan! 14 Must-See Art Pieces at the Setouchi Triennale 2016 in Japan! Pinterest The Setouchi Triennale or Setouchi International Art Festival is an international modern art festival that takes place on the islands of the Seto Inland Sea, which separates the main island and Shikoku island of Japan. First held in 2010, this festival that takes place once every three years was made to bring back vitality to the islands of the Seto Inland Sea that have been losing their activeness and unique culture due to the aging populations there. drop-m.com/ There is an extremely large amount of artwork that is on display throughout the islands of the Seto Inland Sea and it is near impossible to include all of them in this article. So I have chosen one piece from each of the 14 locations (mostly islands) that are a part of the Setouchi Triennale 2016 from the perspective of a digital artist.

The Naoshima Pavilion is a large landmark on Naoshima designed by Sou Fujimoto that is located right off the shore and at night, this piece turns into a magical looking object that has the lightness and buoyancy of a mirage. 2. Teshima setouchi-artfest.jp/ I’m not sure how accurate this translation is, but the title of this work roughly translates to “the things you love, also make you cry.” This work turned an abandoned house into a restaurant filled with camouflage print, stripes, and polka dots. This seemingly other-dimensional restaurant itself is a work of art. 3. Megijima setouchi-artfest.jp/ This piece made by the artist Harumi Yukutake features over 10,000 pieces of handmade mirror glass. With the sunlight hitting the installation at different angles throughout the day, this piece changes its appearance at every second and when the wind shakes the pieces of glass, the entire space is filled with an otherworldly light. 4. Ogijima setouchi-artfest.jp/ This piece made by Keisuke Yamaguchi was inspired by the story of Noah and the Ark. The four mountains on the ark are attempting to walk across the ocean.

This represents the ark going out towards the ocean in an attempt to stop any calamity from occurring. 5. Shodoshima This installation is located in a dormitory and was named Blue Sky Aquarium because it attempts to bring the world underwater up to the world on land. This work features crying mermaids, shipwrecks, and numerous sea creatures. 7. Inujima setouchi-artfest.jp/ The C-Art House located on a hill that looks over the Seto Inland Sea is a 200-year-old building that has been renovated into an art gallery. This installation is made from a leveling string that has been tied throughout the indoor space. 8. Shamijima setouchi-artfest.jp/ This installation directed by Tanya Preminger was made by piling up granite dirt frequently found in Kagawa prefecture. The mound covered by grass is approximately 6.5 meters high. This interactive installation allows visitors to climb up the hill to enjoy the beautiful view of the Seto Inland Sea from the top. 9. Honjima setouchi-artfest.jp/ This exhibit was put up as a result of the fish net knitting workshops that took place in various places on the mainland during the spring.

This exhibit allows people to enjoy the changing nature of the ocean seen through the vertically installed nets. 10. Takamijima setouchi-artfest.jp/ This piece located on an empty space that overlooks the sea is made from no longer used metal objects including various electronics and daily items. The surfaces of the objects that have been polished cause the sunlight to reflect off the many surfaces creating an unusual feel to the ship-shaped installation. 11. Awashima setouchi-artfest.jp/ This installation is located in the building that used to be Awashima Kindergarten. The monotone space that has been created through bending nonsystematic lines represent the space that small children used to occupy. The non-organic nature of the space brings forth various emotions in the viewer. 12. Ibukijima setouchi-artfest.jp/ This piece is made from fishing nets, floats, and various other everyday objects that remind the viewer of schools of fish and the swirling waves in the ocean. The floats made by the people of the island along with elementary and middle school students is breathtaking as it is placed in this enormous indoor space and provide the viewer with a deeper meaning of the installation. 13.

Takamatsu setouchi-artfest.jp/ The City of Takamatsu serves as the entrance into these islands that are part of the international art festival. These two colorful installations that are located at Takamatsu Port are partly covered in glass that reflects the port, sea, and buildings that surround the area, and the tower changes its appearance according to where and when you look at it from. 14. Uno Port setouchi-artfest.jp/ This installation has been made from empty cans, PET bottles, and other trash that have been collected from households around the island. This exhibit was actually created for the first Art Festival that took place three years ago, but it has been retouched to be once again put on exhibit for the 2016 festival. General Information setouchi-artfest.jp/ If you are planning to visit Setouchi Triennale 2016, I highly suggest getting the 3-season passport. The passports are available for 5,000 yen each for adults, and 3,500 yen for high school students. It would usually cost over 25,000 yen in order to visit all of the locations so these passports are extremely cost efficient.

The spring season is already over but the summer season goes on from July 18th to September 4th, and the fall season goes on from October 8th to November 6th. The 3-season passport is valid throughout the entire year. If you have any interest in modern art and/or the wonderful islands of the Seto Inland Sea, the Setouchi Triennale would make the perfect vacation. Why not tour around the islands of the Seto Inland Sea to enjoy the culture of these islands and various works of art made by artists all around the world? Setouchi Triennale 2016 Website Related Articles: Seto Inland Sea, Japan Social Travel Network - Touristlink Locals and travelers to connect with About The Seto Inland Sea, often shortened to Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku , and Kyūshū, three of the main islands of Japan . It serves as an international waterway, connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka Bay and provides a sea transport link to industrial centers in the Kansai region, including Osaka and Kobe .

Before the construction of the Sanyō Main Line, it was the main transportation link between Kansai and Kyūshū. Yamaguchi , Hiroshima , Okayama , Hyōgo, Osaka, Kagawa, Ehime, Fukuoka , and Ōita prefectures all have coastlines on the Inland Sea; the cities of Hiroshima, Iwakuni, Takamatsu , and Matsuyama are also located on it. The Inland Sea region is known for its moderate climate, with a stable year-round temperature and relatively low rainfall levels: The area is often called "the land of fair weather". The sea is also famous for its periodic red tides caused by dense groupings of certain phytoplankton that result in the death of large numbers of fish. Since the 1980s, its northern and southern shores have been connected by the three routes of the Honshū-Shikoku Bridge Project, including the Great Seto Bridge , which serves both railroad and automobile traffic. Extent : The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Inland Sea as follows: On the West. The Southeastern limit of the Japan Sea [In Shimonoseki -kaikyo.

A line running from Nagoya Saki in Kyûsû through the islands of Uma Sima and Muture Simia to Murasaki Hana in Honsyû]. On the East (Kii Suidô). A line running from Takura Saki in Honsyû to Oishi Hana in the island of Awazi, through this island to Sio Saki and on to Oiso Saki in Sikoku. On the South (Bungo Suidô). A line joining Sada Misaki in Sikoku and Seki Saki in Kyûsyû. Geographical features : The Inland Sea is 450 km (280 mi) long from east to west. The width from south to north varies from 15 to 55 km (9.3 to 34 mi). In most places, the water is relatively shallow. The average depth is 37.3 m (122 ft); the greatest depth is 105 m (344 ft). The Naruto Strait connects the eastern part of the Inland Sea to the Kii Channel, which in turn connects to the Pacific Ocean.

The western part of the Inland Sea connects to the Sea of Japan through the Kanmon Straits and to the Pacific through the Bungo Channel. Major islands : Three Days, Three Legendary Japanese Views | Outside Online Three Days, Three Legendary Japanese Views By: Gideon Lewis-Kraus Nov 6, 2014 Itsukushima Shrine's Shinto gate is one of the Three Scenic Views identified by a Confucian scholar in the 1600s. Photo: Emily Shur Share This Email Is there such a thing as the greatest vista on earth? The Japanese think so, and they've got the breathtaking Three Scenic Views, a trio of iconic landscapes that stand above the rest. One writer takes them all in on a breakneck tour. The Japanese enjoy a culture of consensus. All things touristed, in particular, take their place in a hierarchy. This is convenient for travelers: the country is organized for best-of consumption. In the three years that my younger brother, Micah, lived there, we joined Japanese tourists in staying on not just the beaten track but the ranked one.

We visited the Third Most Famous Original Flatland Castle and the Second Most Famous Garden, as well as the Second Most Famous Large Buddha and the First Most Famous Ancient Hot Spring. There’s even a list of the Three Most Poisonous Creatures. We stayed away from those. The original triumvirate is the Three Scenic Views, first identified as such by a Confucian scholar in 1643; all subsequent rankings have followed that medieval lead. They are exactly what they sound like. Itsukushima , in western Japan, near Hiroshima, is a shrine; Amanohashidate , north of Kyoto, is a land bridge; the third, in northern Japan, near Sendai, overlooks Matsushima Bay . Together they are not the Three Famous Places, or even exactly the Three Famous Sights. A Famous Sight is something you might behold alone. A Scenic View is something you expect to share—horizontally, with other visitors, and vertically, with the history of other viewers. Its tracks aren’t just beaten but painted and engraved and emblazoned on ancient woodcuts and postcards and T-shirts.

Most Japanese seem pretty content to admire just one of the top-flight castles or hot springs, but many of them try to visit all three of the Scenic Views at least once in their lifetimes. Micah and I always planned to see them, but suddenly time was short. After five years in Asia on an expat contract from an American tech company, Micah had just got married, and soon he and his wife, Sydnie, would be returning stateside. I had just got engaged. For so long we’d had such easy access to adventure—any visit to Micah was, by dint of his distance, effortlessly magnificent—and now the prospect of our shared future looked to be narrowing. A few weeks before the move, he called me up. “Wanna come once more? Might be our last chance to take in those views.” There wasn’t much time, but we had developed ruthlessly efficient strategies for travel. “We could do all three in three days,” he said. Though the Three Views are on the main island, Honshu , they’re hundreds of miles apart. Doing them all in three days was a foolhardy proposition. “You’re on,” I said.

Itsukushima Shrine, more popularly known as Miyajima , for the island where it stands, is the most visited of the Three Scenic Views and the only one generally known to foreigners. Thousands of tourists come each year. One of the signal images of Japanese guidebooks is its bright red torii, the Shinto gate that separates the sacred shrine from the profane world. The gate rises from the protected Seto Inland Sea, which separates three of the four main islands of Japan. We left Tokyo on a bullet train before dawn, passed Mount Fuji around sunup, changed trains three times, and by early afternoon were on the eight-minute ferry across the Seto Inland Sea to Miyajima. We gathered with a few dozen Japanese tourists along the starboard railing, and Micah tried to ferret some meaning from the recorded Japanese-language narration, which unspooled robotically over a background of electronic music. The red gate was a speck of ember against the dark green haunches of the wooded island. “Um, they’re saying something about 12 meters, and maybe something about 20 meters, and something about 6 meters,” Micah reported. “Wonderfully illuminating,” I replied.

“Thanks.” “It’s very important to know the precise dimensions.” Micah was joking, but I think he did feel a little protective of the Japanese tendency to quantify. The boat swung around to take in a close-up view of the gate. It was low tide, the only time when tourists can approach the base of the beached structure. Masses of visitors milled around on the dark wet sand. With the water withdrawn into the sea, the gate looked naked, stripped of the illusion of flotation it maintains on countless postcards. “It seems, uh,” I coughed, “less impressive than I might have imagined.” Micah, who had visited once before with his wife, was relieved. “Totally! We thought so, too. But don’t worry, wait until we get to the top of the mountain.” He pointed up and to the west, into the setting sun, where Mount Misen , one of Japan’s most sacred peaks, rose 1,755 feet above the gate. Back on shore, the harbor area was staged like a theme park, though it smelled like a moldy washing machine full of oyster shells.

Japanese pilgrims held cameras close to the faces of the tame deer that staggered about stealing ice cream cones. From the shore, the torii was much larger, the tourists tugging at its broad cedar ankles, but it still looked marooned on the wet sand. “When will the tide come in?” I asked. “Oh gee,” Micah cracked, “I’m so sorry that I forgot my Seto Inland Sea tide table back in Tokyo. How would I possibly know that?” I wanted to hike up Misen, but Micah said the native thing to do was take the mechanized series of small gondolas. We could then hike down on our own. We jogged up a stony path mottled with the shadows of maples, then settled into the five-minute ride. At the top, signs directed us toward the summit. They said the walk should take around 30 minutes. “Now this is exactly the problem,” Micah said. “They’re great on quantification but terrible on qualification. The relevant data is not that this is a 30-minute hike ahead of us. It’s that it’s a very steep, very difficult 30-minute hike.” Nighttime at the Itsukushima shrine.

Photo: Katsuhiro Yamanashi/Corbis The throngs stuck to the sites at the top of the gondolas, so the trail was ours. Occasionally, we would come over a rise and catch sight of the ridges of the back of the island as they fell off in broken planes toward the sea. At last we clambered up a narrow set of steps cut into the rock, past a makeshift summit shrine with a little red-bibbed stone idol, then hoisted each other over some smooth boulders. We caught our breath and sat in silence with the lowering sun in our faces. “But I can’t see the torii,” I whined. “We’re looking the wrong direction.” “Oh, come on,” he said. “Be patient for once in your life.” The trail down the front of the mountain was a series of gentle switchbacks that ran between small wooden shrines. Alone with the darkening mountains of the main island across the strait before us, we took our time and didn’t feel the need to speak. We came to a shallow clearing before a precipice, and there, far below, was the gate.

The tide had come in, and the settled green of the sea lapped at the base. In the twilight the gate was floodlit from below, the cedar posts shining a glazed mandarin. The clean lines of the posts, the strength and durability of their frame, stood in sharp relief against their rippled, dim echo in the currents beneath. The cameras of tourists flashed from the perimeter like white fireflies in the expanding dusk. “See?” Micah said. “Way better from up here.” We caught a bullet train out of Hiroshima, transferred at the First Most Famous Castle Town to the northerly train toward the Sea of Japan, then transferred twice more. It was Sunday morning, and Micah seemed disappointed to find so few other people en route to the second of the famous Scenic Views, Amanohashidate , or the “bridge to heaven,” a two-mile-long sandbar, upholstered with a thick hedge of black pines, that bisects a tranquil bay. Most of the time, Micah and I tried to get away from the crowds. But the point of this trip was the component of mass delectation. Though that wasn’t quite it.

It was something closer to the feeling that we two were sharing something private in the midst of a crowd. Of the three views, Micah, for reasons he couldn’t quite explain, was most excited for Amanohashidate. Now he worried about the lack of visitors. Amanohashidate, the "bridge to heaven." Photo: Amana Images/Corbis At the traditional inn near Amanohashidate, Micah asked our host in pidgin Japanese if this was the low season. No, said the diffident innkeeper, this was the high season—fall foliage had just peaked—but most visitors came on Saturday, not Sunday. There wasn’t, then, a long line for the chair-lift that took us up the ridge along the eastern end of the sandbar. Speakers on the lift posts played jazzy renditions of too-early holiday standards: “White Christmas” and “Frosty the Snowman.” The hilltop was crowned with a ragged amusement park—three holes of mini golf and a set of bumper cars. The viewing station was a strip of twisted walkway that called to mind an M. C. Escher drawing.

The black pine forest of Amanohashidate, an unfaltering line of evergreen marching down the sandbar, was a natural feature, but the Japanese liked the trees so much that they planted many more; now there are some 8,000. On the far end, the ribbon of pine was notched into the base of a mountain lit with yellow gingkos and candied red Japanese maples holding their last leafy breaths. The visitors around us gasped in recognition; it’s an image they’ve seen hundreds of times, most famously in stylized woodblock prints. When the Japanese come for the view, they’re toting the history of its most famous interpretations, like American hikers gazing at Half Dome and remembering Ansel Adams. The Japanese, however, didn’t seem to have all that much interest in walking across the sandbar; being on it presumably prevented taking it in. We passed crowds massed at the pier, waiting to take a speedboat across the bay. When we reached the gravel path that traversed the sandbar, we were almost alone. The brochures stated that the stroll would take precisely 50 minutes, but we figured we could beat that handily.

The pines were spaciously allotted, their knotted trunks listing leeward to the sea. Some of the pines were set off with wide cordons as objects of appreciation. “Micah,” I said, “it seems as though some of these trees are even named.” “Of course they’re named,” he said. “How else could you rank them?” “Wait, are they actually ranked?” “I have no idea. But probably.” In 40 minutes we reached the far side, where a second chairlift took us to a little bus that rolled up a mountain on a narrow lane through scruffy bamboo forest. At the top, the driver pointed in two directions and barked something in Japanese. One lookout was a ten-minute walk along the ridge. The second was a steep 40-minute hike up to the peak above us. Micah asked the driver for a recommendation. “Oh! Oh! Oh!” the driver said. “View from peak, much better.” All the other tourists opted for the easy ridge stroll. It’s not that the Japanese don’t like hiking: thousands of them climb 12,380-foot Mount Fuji every year. It’s that the Japanese trust authorities to make reasonable decisions.

If the view from the very top were really worth seeing, somebody would have built another chairlift. This was only logical. Micah jogged past cedar groves and bamboo copses, eager to reach the top before sunset. Each time we turned around, more of the network of bays and capes was revealed, and at the summit we found a sweeping vista. There was the broken cone of Mount Haku , one of Japan’s three Most Sacred Mountains, and further north the remote, windswept Noto Peninsula , where Micah had once talked our way into receiving free entry at one of Japan’s schmanciest hot springs. Amanohashidate itself was just a thin band of green separating one blue sea from another; the quiet bays on either side were gently waked with the long V’s of tourist pleasure craft. Micah perched high up on a boulder and I sat on a bench, and for a few minutes we just took in the bay. “Come here,” Micah said. “Let’s take another selfie.” The third Scenic View, Matsushima , is a constellation of nearly 300 islands in a broad Pacific bay, all of them sprouted with clusters of pines.

We arrived at dusk after changing trains five times. Browning maple leaves disintegrated underfoot as we trudged uphill to a spooky hotel. We got drunk in the only open restaurant, where Micah showed the solitary chef pictures of our past few days. “Oh,” the chef cried. “I live here beside one Scenic View but have never in my life seen the other two.” He thought for a moment. “One day, when I retire.” Matsushima Bay is made up of nearly 300 pine-populated islands. Photo: Katsuhiro Yamanashi/Corbis In the morning, we were among no more than a dozen people aboard the first boat tour. Stiff, recorded English narration followed the Japanese version, but there was enough of a lag that by the time it began we had long passed whatever islands we were supposed to be learning about. It didn’t matter much; most of the islands were identical. Each featured bouquets of pines planted at oblique angles on plinths of coarse, top-heavy white stone. Darker rock at the submerged base lent an underline to the islands, making them seem as if they were floating just above the waves.

It was cold, and the tourists who weren’t huddled in the cabin threw shrimp crackers to seagulls. We had bought tickets for the lower deck, but once aboard we found that if we paid another 600 yen, or about six dollars, we could stand on the higher deck. Even here, in the bay rather than high above it, there was a premium placed on the better view. “I look out at the beaches of the islands,” Micah said, “or the little hills and the little cliffs, and I think how fun it would be to be out there swimming and jumping.” That wasn’t possible. Micah had to be back in Tokyo that afternoon to pack. For my part, in all my sojourns to Japan, I had never taken the narrow road to the deep north. I was going to continue on, toward Aomori and maybe even Sapporo, where it was already wintry. We had only an hour or two to hike up to a special vantage point in a park, a set of clearings cut into the hillside. The pine cover was too thick to see much, but here and there we spotted a sliver of green pine rooted on white stone awash in the gray water.

We hurried downhill to catch our trains. At the station in Sendai, Micah pointed to the big board overhead. “The Aomori train is that way,” he said, and began to turn. But I followed him to the Tokyo one. The adventures promised by Aomori and Sapporo could wait for another time. Or maybe I would never get there. Micah had those select minor places—bars, restaurants, parks—that he wanted to see once more over his last few days in Japan. I wanted to be there with him to take in, as it were, the private views.

Question: The Seto Inland Sea separates the three main islands of which country?
Answer: Japan